Gripping locks of hair from a brunette mannequin, Sue Hankee recited the pattern aloud, only to come to a realization once she reached the end.

"Oh, I did mine too tight," the Lehigh County-based hair stylist admitted, taking the strands apart to give it another go.

Nearby, mannequin heads sat on tables, attended to by more than 50 other stylists, all trying their hand at the newly-learned S Braid.

It was just another Monday afternoon at The Gallery, Raylon Corp.'s training and education center on Morgantown Road in Reading.

On this particular Monday, though, the name onstage was a big one.

By January, the event had sold out, with stylists flocking to Berks from across the Mid-Atlantic region to spend the day learning from a world-renowned pro.

"I'm a firm believer that if you keep doing what you always do, you're going to get the same results," said Sam Villa, Redken's education artistic director. "And now, it's about people wanting something different. To give them something different you've got to think differently. You've got to do differently, and you have to say differently."

Villa, a 30-year hair industry veteran who calls Florida home, led a morning session for 150 stylists, followed by the hands-on afternoon workshop for 55.

His visit came as Raylon celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

"I'm proud of the fact that we've got hairdressers in here on their day off that are learning so they can go out and be better when they get back to their salons," said Howard Hafetz, Raylon's CEO. "I think a client in a beauty salon would be happy to know that her hairdresser went and studied today and was doing that four, five, six times a year."

Hafetz is the second-generation leader of the company, which distributes professional salon products through its 13 store locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His son, Josh, serves as the company president.

Since its founding by Joe Hafetz in 1953, Raylon has earned a reputation among professionals as a leader in the hair industry. With the opening of The Gallery in 1978, the company has hosted such hair legends as Vidal Sassoon and Paul Mitchell for workshops at its Reading headquarters.

"We're about information, ideas, inspiration," Howard Hafetz said. "So The Gallery has a big good name, but only in the professional business industry. Because we only do business with licensed professionals."

Since 1982, Roger Least has made the five-hour drive down from Rochester, N.Y., an average of three to four times a year to attend shows and workshops at The Gallery.

"I've been doing this for 51 years, and you always learn," the owner of Roger's Hair Craft said. "If you're ripe, you rot. If you're green, you grow."

He takes the styles, tips and tricks that he learns in Reading and brings them back to upstate New York.

"We're a fashion business," Least said of the hair industry. "So Sam Villa is updating us. We're getting ahead of it. So when clients come in, we don't have to go to YouTube to find out about it. We've already got it with us."

And on this trip, that meant everything from braided styles to Great Gatsby-inspired hair.

"I really believe it's about adding value to the appointment time," Villa said. "So, sharing as many little hot tips and tricks that people can do at home, that adds value."

Among the styles set to be big in coming months, Villa cited a fusion of 1940s meets '60s.

"There's a big influence of the '40s, where there's a lot of discipline to it," he said. "And also still the organic '60s colliding with the '40s. A bob is timeless. And a braid of a ponytail, I think you're going to see that around for awhile."

Villa urged stylists to reinvent the classics and always stay fresh.

"Take a look at something that's already been done and say, 'OK, how would I do that in a different way?' " he said. "If you challenge yourself, all this creativity just pours out."